"COPRA" CRUSHING-MILL IN USE AT SEYCHELLES (p.217).
There were no land-birds. The sea-birds were identical with those of Bird Island. Young unfledged gannets were waddling about among the bushes, and as regards the other birds, their nesting season also seemed to be over. I did not notice any petrel burrows, but everywhere near the beach were the burrows of a littoral crab, a species of the genusOcypoda. On the rocks at the northern extremity were multitudes of the widely distributedGrapsus variegatus. When chasing them over the rocks of the foreshore, I observed that they were reluctant to take to the water, but preferred to keep clear of me by scampering away over the coral further inshore. The cause of this strange behaviour on their part soon became apparent; for the rock-pools about the foreshore were tenanted by savage grey eels, ranging in length from two to three feet, and I saw that the moment an unlucky crab was forced to enter one of these pools, he was immediately snapped up and devoured. I was surprised to see the coolness with which an eel would every now and then raise its head above the water in which it lay, and look about over the adjacent rocks to see if any crabs were near. On starting an eel from its hiding place, it would scuttle with astonishing rapidity over the low rocks which separated it from the water's edge, so that it was no easy matter to secure one without the aid of a gun. Shooting them, as they wriggled off in this way, was rather good sport.
The island is evidently visited by turtle during the breedingseason, for we saw several of the excavations in which they were in the habit of depositing their eggs.
We got under way at seven o'clock in the morning, and after running several lines of soundings over the outer edge of the Amirante bank, steamed over to Eagle Island, which lies about thirteen miles to the southward of African Islands, and again dropped anchor.
Eagle Island is somewhat oval in shape, and is a quarter of a mile long by one-eighth in breadth. It is entirely of coral formation, is low and flat, is covered with a thick growth of stunted bushes, and in other physical features is much the same as the African Islands. There was, however, an increase in the fauna in the shape of a small red-legged partridge, which was very abundant, and afforded us some good shooting. Owing to the thickness of the scrub, and weedy undergrowth of grasses, ill-conditioned gourds and calabashes, it was found very difficult to recover the dead birds, so that I fear there were a good many shot which were never bagged. The only other land-birds on the island were domestic fowls gone wild. Of these we saw an old cock and hen, and some three or four chickens, which, on being disturbed, rose and took to flight like pheasants.
In the interior of the island, among a tangled scrub of bushes, we found the remains of an old stone-built hut, which from the solidity of its four walls would seem to have been originally intended as a permanent dwelling for Europeans.
I took several specimens of a small species of lizard, and also some of the tiny spherical eggs of the same. I stowed away the eggs in a matchbox with some sand, and left it open on the table of the deckhouse on board. After a day or two the young lizards began to break out of their eggs, and to wander about among the materials on my work-table. I broke open one egg, and found that the youngster was at once able to run about. After it had wandered about the table, and up and down the sides of some bottles standing near, it returned to the matchboxand remained for a long time hovering about it, as if terrified at the immensity of the world, and loth to venture away from its former narrow dwelling.
In some small holes about the centre of the islet we found a land-crab, apparently similar to that of Bird Island; and from some large burrows issued the peculiar groaning sounds made by the night petrel.
One of the most singular features in the zoology of the islet was the abundance of a hermit crab,—occupying aNeritinashell,—which was to be seen and heard creeping over the stems and branches of the bushes in all directions. They seemed for the time to have entirely adopted terrestrial habits.
We got under way again on the morning of the 20th of March, and, after spending the day in sounding from the ship, steamed up to Darros Island, and again anchored.
This island is somewhat circular in shape, and has a maximum diameter of three-quarters of a mile. It is inhabited by a Frenchman and his wife, who are assisted by nine negro labourers from Mahé. Adjoining are nine small islets, bearing a rich crop of cocoa-nuts. Darros Island itself as yet produces next to nothing, but it contains a large plantation of young cocoa-nuts, which in five or six years will doubtless be productive. Immediately behind the Frenchman's house, and affording an agreeable shade, was a handsome grove ofCasuarinasabout eighty feet in height. They were nineteen years old, as we subsequently ascertained. Many introduced plants—such as papaws, cotton, pumpkin, etc.—were growing in a neglected state over the island.
We dredged from the ship as she lay at anchor in twenty-one to twenty-two fathoms, over a bottom which was mainly composed of coraldébris, and among the living organisms brought up were three species of stony corals. This circumstance is of interest as regards the bathymetrical distribution of corals, inasmuch as Dana, judging from the results of observations made by various authorities, considers that twenty fathoms may be regardedas the limit in depth at which reef-forming corals live. Polyzoa were numerous. I noticed representatives of the generaRetepora,Crisia,Eschara,Cellepora,Lepralia, andMyriozoum. There were also some examples ofSertulariaand other flexible hydroids.
Our gropings over the platform of fringing reef, which formed the foreshore at low water, resulted in the acquisition of several species of holothurians. Among these was a largeSynapta, which was abundant, and a very tough-skinned holothurian—of the genusMoliria—provided with organs resembling teeth at its posterior extremity.
On March 23rd we moved over to Poivre Island—a few miles distant—where we anchored, and remained for part of two days.
Poivre Island was colonized for the first time in the year 1820. It is now the property of a Frenchman residing at Paris, and is managed by his agent, a Monsieur Bertaut, who, with his wife and family, and some twenty negroes and their wives, form the population of the island, altogether amounting to twenty-seven. Of course the staple produce is cocoa-nut oil, and the island having been planted with cocoa-nuts at an early period in its history, the trees are in good condition for bearing, and cover every available spot of ground. Among the other trees on the island I noticed aCasuarinaand aFicus. Two shrubs were common; one, called the "Bois d'Aimanthe" (Suriana maritima), formed a sort of hedge around the island, and the other was aTournefortia, which seems to be the first plant to establish itself on these islands. The fauna included a black-and-white rabbit—of course introduced—which was very abundant, and some pigeons of a dark-brown plumage. Pigs and domestic poultry seemed to be largely favoured by the colonists, and were indeed in a thriving state.
Like all the Amirantes, Poivre Island is low and flat, and is only exceptional in being the most prosperous island of the group, for which it is indebted to the zeal of the earlier colonists who planted its splendid grove of cocoa-nuts. The island is oval inshape, about two miles in circumference, and it has a broad fringing reef composed of drift coral and sand, but exhibiting no live corals and very few shells.
We cast anchor off the north-west side of Isle des Roches on the evening of the 25th of March, and stayed there for four days. This is the largest island of the Amirante Group, being three and a half miles long, and having an average width of half-a-mile. It is visible for a long distance off, on account of its possessing several large groves of tallCasuarinatrees, many of which are one hundred and eleven feet in height. On the shore, immediately opposite to our anchorage, was the settlement, which then exhibited a rather desolate appearance, as many of the houses were in an abandoned condition, most of the inhabitants having recently gone back to Seychelles. Only two individuals remained, French creoles, who seemed to have acquired, from their solitary situation, habits of taciturnity, which they found it difficult to break through. At all events, we could not succeed in extracting much information from them. They were well off for supplies, having a large stock of pigs and poultry, besides fruit and vegetables. Cocoa-nuts had been planted extensively, but as yet few of these trees were old enough to bear fruit. At the time of our visit, the natives were engaged in planting vanilla cuttings about the bases of the casuarina trees, which furnished excellent supports for the creeper to attach itself to.
The flora was more extensive than that of the other islands. There was a large-leafed shrub with thick branches like cabbage-stalks, theScævola kœnigii, which over ran the island. There were also herbaceous plants of the familiesMalvaceæ,Solanaceæ,Cinchonaceæ, andConvolvulaceæ. Among the trees I noticed a Ficus, which, however, may have been introduced; and here I obtained the only fern met with among the Amirantes, theNephrolepis exaltata; it was growing near the sea beach at the eastern end of the island.
There were six land-birds: viz., a red-legged partridge, a pigeon,a large brown finch, and a small yellow-breasted finch, a red-capped weaver-bird, and a waxbill (?). Of these I could only obtain specimens of the small finch and the weaver-bird. The yellow-breasted finch is gregarious, and mostly frequents the tops of the cocoa-nut trees and the upper branches of the tall casuarinas, where it keeps up an incessant melody of song, pleasant to the ear in the variety and succession of the notes, and somewhat resembling the song of the canary. In the large casuarina grove, near the western end of the island, I succeeded, but with much difficulty, in procuring some male specimens of the weaver-bird (Foudia madagascariensis). The females were nesting. I observed one of the latter flying away from the tree in which its nest was constructed, and from which I had disturbed it. It differed from the male in having the red-coloured feathers confined to the head, the rest of the plumage being of a dull brown. The nest was an oblong affair, having a lateral opening, and was constructed of a parasitic plant of creeping habit, which the creoles use for making a substitute for tea. The nest hung from the extremity of a casuarina branch which projected horizontally. The male bird was to be seen perched singly on the summits of the large casuarinas, where it made its presence known by a peculiar and characteristic twittering note which it emits about four times in a minute. It was very wary, and difficult to approach within a sixty yards' range, so that it was only by most careful stalking that I could succeed in bringing down a specimen. The brown finch was not abundant, and seemed to confine its range to the plantations of young cocoa-nuts, where it was continually shifting its perch. The waxbill was a very small bird, which was to be seen every now and then flitting in large flocks among the maize plants and low bushes. I was much surprised to find that the four small birds above mentioned were so very wary, as there were no predatory birds on the island, and it was unlikely that they had ever been shot at before. Nevertheless, the motion of raising one'sgun at a distance of sixty yards or more was enough to scare away any of them.
The partridge was identical with that already seen at Eagle and Darros Islands. The pigeon, which I have included among the list of the birds, I saw only once. But one of the creoles living on the island told me that it was an indigenous species, and was quite distinct from the domestic pigeons which roost about and restrict their range to the houses and trees about the settlement.
Although this island has been classed as one of the Amirante Group, it would be more correct to look upon it as distinct and apart from the main group, inasmuch as the bank on which it rests is separated from the Amirante bank by a deep water channel eleven miles wide. We sounded across this channel, and obtained no bottom with one hundred fathoms of line. Isle des Roches is, moreover, peculiar in forming part of an atoll, most of which is submerged, and is covered with from two to five fathoms of water. The circumscribed patch of deep water in the interior has a depth of about fifteen fathoms.
During the week subsequent to our departure from Isle des Roches, we anchored successively off the four remaining islets of the group; viz., Etoile, Marie-Louise, Des Neufs, and Boudeuse. They are mere cays, formed of coral and drift sand, and are uninhabited. Owing to the heavy surf which broke all round their shores, we found it unsafe to land.
With our brief visit to the islets just mentioned our survey of the Amirante Group came to an end. I will, therefore, before quitting the subject, make a few general remarks on the group as a whole. The Amirante Group consists altogether of twenty-one low coral islets, resting (with the exception of Isle des Roches, which is on a separate bank) on an extensive coral bank, whose long axis lies in a north-north-east and south-south-west direction, and is eighty-nine miles in length, with an average breadth of nineteen miles. It is included between the limits of 4° 501⁄2′ and6° 121⁄2′ south latitude, and 53° 45′ and 52° 501⁄2′ east longitude, and is about seven hundred miles distant from the nearest part of the East African coast. Some of the islets and cays of which it is composed, and which are included in the above enumeration, are so grouped into clusters, that for all practical purposes the group may be considered as consisting of nine islets, which have been named African Island, Eagle Island, Darros Island, Poivre Island, Des Roches Island, Etoile Island, Marie-Louise Island, Des Neufs Island, and Boudeuse Island. Of these only three are inhabited; viz., Darros (including the adjoining islet "St. Joseph," which is occupied by part of the same establishment of creoles), Poivre Island, and Isle des Roches; the population consisting of French creoles and negroes imported from Seychelles, who make a livelihood by cultivating cocoa-nuts, and altogether do not exceed forty in number. The islets are all low and flat, are formed entirely of coral and coral-sandstone, and their general surface has an altitude above high-water mark not exceeding fifteen feet, while in the case of African Island, the lowest, it is not more than seven feet. Most of them, however, are conspicuous from a long distance at sea, on account of their possessing clumps and groves of casuarina trees, which tower to heights ranging from eighty to one hundred and eleven feet above the soil, as ascertained by trigonometrical measurement. The casuarinas at Darros Island, which were eighty feet in height, had been planted nineteen years prior to the time of our visit by a Frenchman named Hoyaeux, whom we subsequently met at Providence Island.
All the islets above mentioned possess "fringing reefs," but are distinguished from the coral islets of the South Pacific, and of the other parts of the Indian Ocean, by the entire absence of "barrier reefs." The soundings which we made over the Amirante bank showed a general uniformity in the contour of its surface; whilst at the same time there was abundant evidence that the central portions were more depressed than the margins. Soundings in the latter situation gave a depth ranging from ten to fourteenfathoms, and as each line of soundings reached the central depressed area of the bank, a depth of about thirty fathoms. The islands were for the most part situated near the margin of the bank, and were in every case surrounded by a zone of shallow water. Hence it is obvious that if the entire structure were suddenly to undergo an elevation of about fourteen fathoms, or eighty-four feet, it would present the appearance of an atoll studded with comparatively lofty islets, and enclosing a lagoon of still water sixteen fathoms in depth.
The outer edge of the bank was exceedingly abrupt, for within a ship's length the soundings changed from ten or fourteen fathoms on the margin, to no bottom with one hundred fathoms of line immediately outside the edge. This precipitous character of the reef-edge was found to be the same throughout its entire extent. At various points over this area growing corals were obtained at depths ranging from twelve to twenty-two fathoms, the latter being somewhat greater than the limit in depth at which it is generally agreed that reef-forming corals can live. It therefore follows, that if the entire bank were now to subside bodily at a faster rate than the corals can by their growth raise the surface upwards, these organisms would soon be immersed below their natural limit, and would consequently die. But we have no evidence of a subsidence having occurred, beyond the fact that the bank, as a whole, bears a resemblance to a submerged atoll, while on the other hand there are some positive evidences of elevation to be seen in the overlying islands. At Eagle Island, the general surface—that is to say, all the land within the inner, or coral-drift beach—is level, and consists of dead coralin situ; so that if denuded of its present covering of low vegetable growth, it would present much the same appearance that a broad platform of fringing reef might, if elevated above high-water mark and allowed to remain exposed to the weather for a few years. The same is the case as regards the greater part of one of the African Islands which we visited; while its northern extremitywas composed of upraised coral sandstone, standingin situ, and exhibiting excavated grottoes and jagged pinnacles, resulting from old marine degradation. It may therefore be inferred that these two islands have been subjected to a movement of elevation to the extent of at least a few feet at some period subsequent to the formation of their present reef-coral surfaces. Again, at Isle des Roches, which, however, it should be remembered lies on a separate, although adjacent bank, there were along its south-eastern margin stratified beds of hard coral sandstone occupying a position above high-water mark, and presenting to seaward an abrupt eroded face of hard rock which was undergoing degradation, and was being undermined by the action of the waves on a soft subjacent stratum. As regards the other islands of the group, I have seen no evidence of elevation beyond the fact that they are higher than either African or Eagle Island; one of the most southerly being as much as fifteen feet above high-water mark. I may add that the absence of "barrier reefs" throughout the group militates against the probability of subsidence having taken place. There is, therefore, reason to believe that the entire group have undergone elevation rather than subsidence; and if the forces which produced this condition be still in operation, and continue so until a further elevation of fourteen fathoms has been effected, there will result an atoll over eighty miles long by twenty in width, and studded with lofty coral islands, somewhat resembling the high islands of the south-eastern Paumotus, such as Elizabeth Island, which Dana describes as being eighty feet in height.
The Amirante Group furnishes an illustration of the generally accepted position that corals grow more luxuriantly on the weather than on the lee side of banks and reefs. In this region, a wind, varying in direction between east and south-east, prevails throughout ten months of the year, and consequently gives rise to a proportionately constant surface current; and, on looking at the grouping of the islets, we find that of the eight which restupon the same bank, six are situated on or about its eastern margin, while the remaining two, which are placed on its south-western side, are comparatively insignificant sand-cays. Again, Isle des Roches, which rests on a bank to the eastward of the Amirantes, from which it is separated by a deep-water channel eleven miles wide, is situated on the eastern, or weather margin of its own bank—also a partially-submerged atoll.
Oncompleting our surveying work at the Amirante Group we steamed back to Port Mahé, Seychelles, in order to replenish our stock of coals. After a stay of a few days we again got under way (17th of April), and shaped a course for Alphonse Island, which occupies an isolated position sixty miles south-west-by-south of the southern extremity of the Amirante bank.
We reached Alphonse Island on the 19th of April, about midday, and saw that in shape, and general appearance, it much resembled one of the Amirantes—for instance, Poivre; but, however, in one important characteristic was different. It possessed a sort of barrier reef little less than a wash, and sufficiently indicated by a long line of heavy breakers. We steamed round the island, holding a course parallel to the line of breakers, and within a few ships' lengths of it, but we got no soundings with fifty fathoms of line. On attaining a position opposite to the southern extremity of the island, we saw a canoe approaching, the occupants of which, an elderly white man and some negroes, soon afterwards boarded us. The information which they gave us confirmed our impression as to there being no anchorage suitable for a large ship anywhere near the island. We learned that it was the property of a Frenchman named Baudon, who resides in Europe, and that the population consisted of twenty-eight, six being whites—viz.,John Hickey, the manager, with his wife and children—and the remainder, mulattoes and negroes. The island seemed to us to be covered with cocoa-nut trees, but we were told that only a small number were old enough to bear nuts. The produce consisted of copra, green turtle, hawk's-bill turtle, and pearl-shell. Of the latter, two thousand shells had been exported within the previous two years; and we also learned from Hickey that he then had nine hundred in store awaiting shipment. The shells, which are much smaller than those of Torres Straits, and have a black internal margin like those of Ceylon, are obtained by negro swimming-divers. They are found in the still-water pools, inside the barrier reef, where they lie in four or five fathoms of water; and on account of the danger from sharks they are only sought for in these enclosed pools. Although a good many pearls of small size are met with, the commercial value of the fishery depends on the mother-of-pearl of the shells.
Fish are caught in great abundance, and as poultry thrive well, a large stock of them are kept and allowed to run wild. Fresh water being also plentiful, the inhabitants are not on the whole badly off for the necessaries of life.
After a long interview with old Hickey, who most generously presented us with some turkeys and ducks, we bade him a long good-bye, and steamed away towards Providence Island.
We anchored off the west side of this island on the forenoon of the 21st of April, and lay about a mile from the land, and a quarter of a mile outside a long fringing reef, over the raised outer edge of which the sea broke heavily, forming an almost continuous line of rollers.
Providence Island lies two hundred and forty miles from the Amirante Islands, in a south-west-by-south direction, and is two hundred miles north-east-by-north from the northern extremity of Madagascar. It is entirely of coral formation, is low and flat, and measures two miles in length by one-third of a mile in width. It is surrounded with broad submerged fringing reefs, which atthe southern extremity of the island are continuous with a long reef, extending in a southerly direction for a distance of sixteen miles, and partially dry at low tide. At its southern termination are three small islets, or rather sand-cays, which are termed collectively Cerf Islands.
Providence Island belongs to two Seychelle gentlemen; viz., Mr. Dupuys and Dr. Brookes, for whom it is managed by an elderly Frenchman named Hoyaeux. The population consists of Hoyaeux, with his wife and nephew, and a gang of negroes, male and female, amounting in all to thirty-four. The houses of the settlement are situated on either side of a broad avenue which traverses the middle of the island from east to west. The only landing-place is at the western end of this avenue, opposite to which we were anchored; and even here it was always somewhat dangerous, and in bad weather quite impracticable to effect a landing, on account of the rollers which broke over the outer edge of the fringing reef. The latter forms the nearest approach to a "barrier reef" which I have yet seen in these waters; excepting that at Alphonse Island, which we had not time to examine carefully. The depth of water over its general surface is not more than a fathom at low tide; while at its outer edge, which is marked by the line of breakers, the depth is only a foot or so less.
The produce of the island consists of cocoa-nut oil and green turtle. The greater part of the island is covered with cocoa-nut plantations, young and old, for which the soil seems admirably suited. I noticed that here the cocoa-nuts had been planted in the surface soil, and not in pits as at Poivre and Des Roches; and on my making a remark to that effect, Monsieur Hoyaeux, the manager, explained to me the reason. It has been found by experience that cocoa-nuts will not thrive on any of these islands unless they are so planted that the roots may be enabled to reach the bed of coral into which the sea-water penetrates. Hence it follows that when nuts are planted on any but very low coralislands it has been found advisable to put them at the bottom of basin-shaped excavations, some three or four feet in depth, so that the roots may have a chance of reaching the moist coral beneath. Providence Island being sufficiently low by nature, it was not necessary to make these excavations.
Green turtle are captured in great numbers during the month of April, when the females come up on the beaches to deposit their eggs. A turtle pond near the settlement contained, at the time of our visit, no less than eighty, all of large size. In connection with this pond a portion of the sandy inner beach was wattled in, so as to serve as a hatching-ground for the captured turtle. As soon as the young ones have become sufficiently strong to take care of themselves, they are turned adrift into the open sea. In this way the young turtle escape the danger, which they are otherwise exposed to when of a tender age, of being destroyed by predatory sea-birds; and thus the maintenance of the stock is favoured. It is a curious thing that young turtle seem to have a difficulty about, or a strong disinclination to, diving beneath the surface of the water. One almost always sees them floating in the ponds, instead of groping about the bottom as the adults do.
The indigenous fauna and flora were almost identical with those of the Amirantes, except that there were no land-birds as at Isle des Roches. Monsieur Hoyaeux very kindly supplied me with the creole names of the trees, shrubs, and one or two herbaceous plants. Among these were the "Bois Blanc" (Hernandia peltata), "Sauve Souris" (a low tree with long dark green leaves), "Bois Cu Cu" (a tree with drupaceous fruit, having a curved hook at the apex), "Veloutier Tabac" (Tournefortia argentea, a seaside bush of the familyApocynaceæ, the leaves of which are sometimes smoked instead of tobacco), and the "Veloutier Blanc" (Scævola kœnigii, a very common seaside bush of the familyGoodeniaceæ). Some of the bushes andCasuarinatrees (called "Cedre" by the creoles) were overrun with a parasitic creeping plant,Cassythafiliformis, which they use for making a sort of tea, and to which they give the name "Liane sans feuilles."
The huge land-tortoises of Aldabra have been imported, and seem to find a congenial home in the island. There was a herd of seven roaming about among the bushes, one of which was said to be able to carry two men on its back.
Among the introduced plants and vegetables we saw the papaw, custard-apple, pepper, sweet potato, onions, lettuce, capsicum, etc.
Pearl-shell is collected on the reefs, but not as yet in sufficient quantities to establish a lucrative industry. In this respect the island is not so fortunate as Alphonse, for there are no sheltered rock-pools in which the shell can be collected by swimming-divers without danger from the sharks; the sea everywhere flowing in over the outer edge of the broad fringing reef, and the great reef to the southward only drying in patches at low tide.
Small water-worn fragments of precious coral (C. rubrum) are from time to time picked up on the reef, but we could not glean any information as to its precisehabitat. We met with none in our dredgings, which ranged up to a depth of twenty-two fathoms. It probably inhabits the deeper water on the outer slope of the bank. Madame Hoyaeux, who was most kind and hospitable, presented me with some fragments which had been picked up on the reef, and which resembled theCorallium rubrumof the Mediterranean.
There are many wells on the island, but in all the water has a saline taste. It is serviceable enough for washing and cooking purposes; but for drinking, the inhabitants rely upon the rainwater which they collect.
On the forenoon of the 28th of April we anchored about a mile and a half to the westward of three small islets, which rest on the southern extremity of the Providence Reef. I then accompanied the captain on a boat-trip to the islets, visiting the two which lay nearest. The most northerly of these we found to be a low andalmost barren sand-cay, crescentic in outline, about two hundred yards in greatest length, and thirty yards in width. Near the eastern extremity were two rude fishing-huts which seemed to have been recently inhabited. They contained a turtle-spear and some other fishing appliances, a hatchet, a bag of salt, a tinderbox, and some other small bags which were closed up, and which a delicate regard for the sacred rights of private property deterred us from examining. A few pearl-shells of the species peculiar to these islands lay in a heap near one of the huts. I appropriated, without any scruple, some specimens of these, leaving, however, in exchange, a big lump of tobacco, which I deposited in one of the bags hanging from the rafters of the hut.
Close to the concave margin of the islet was a small turtle-pond, composed of stakes driven vertically into the soft sand, and lashed together so as to form a circular enclosure through which the shallow water flowed freely at all times of the tide. It contained six large turtle.
The only plants growing on the islet were a very young cocoa-nut, scarcely six inches high, and a weed, without flowers, somewhat resembling aMesembryanthemum, and evidently growing wild. The latter may, I think, be considered to be the only indigenous plant on the islet. In strolling over the piled-up sand and broken coral, of which the surface of the islet was composed, I came across three fruits of the widely-distributedBarringtonia speciosa, which had evidently drifted on to the beach, and had then been blown up above tide mark.
We subsequently visited a second islet which lay about a mile to the westward of the above, with which it was connected by a shallow reef, probably laid bare at low tide. This second islet proved to be utterly devoid of vegetation, and showed no signs of having ever been inhabited. Strewn over its surface were great quantities of dead shells, among which I saw examples of the generaHarpa,Dolium,Bulla,Cypræa,Littorina,Voluta,Conus, etc. From here we obtained a good view of the third islet, and couldsee on it two large huts and several clumps of bushes, but nothing in the shape of a human being. (One of our boats visited this islet on the following day and reported that the huts were uninhabited, although showing signs of having recently been in use.) There were three plants; viz., the Veloutier Tabac (Tournefortia argentea), the Bois d'Aimanthe (Suriana maritima), a bush with lanceolate woody leaves, and a small herbaceous plant. After a good deal of groping and wading about the shores of the islet, we returned at about 5 p.m. to the place where we had left our boat, but found, to our dismay, that the tide had fallen so low since we had landed, that the boat was now hard and fast on the bare reef, and after repeated efforts to drag it over to the reef-edge, a distance of nearly half a mile, we were obliged to make up our minds to wait for the rising tide. As we were unfortunately without any provisions, our position was not the most agreeable, especially as the boat was not floated off till near midnight.
On the morning of the 1st of May we weighed anchor and steamed over to the island of St. Pierre, which lies about ten miles to the south-west of our last position. We spent some hours sounding off the island in deep water, and as it was reported that there was no safe anchorage, the captain did not attempt to land. Seen from a distance of about half a mile—the nearest we approached to it—St. Pierre appeared to be of a very different character from the islands recently visited. It was somewhat circular in outline, and was covered by a dense growth of scrubby bushes, above which appeared the crowns of three or four isolated palm trees. The mean level of its surface was about thirty feet above the water, so that it was three or four times as high as Providence, or the Amirante Islands. It presented all round a precipitous rock-bound coast worn into jagged pinnacles above, and undermined below by the wear and tear of the heavy ocean swell, which thundered against it and testified to its eroding power by the jets of spray which we saw shot upwards from blowholes through the upper surface of the rock.
On the 3rd of May we anchored off Du Lise Island, the most northern of the three islets which compose the Glorioso Group. These islets lie about two hundred and seventy miles to the south-west of Providence Island, and one hundred and twenty miles in a west-by-north direction from the northern extremity of Madagascar.
Du Lise Island is of a very irregular shape, both as to its surface and outline, and measures about a quarter of a mile across in various directions. It seems to be formed entirely of coral sandstone, conglomerate, and breccia, and presents to the sea on its north-west side low jagged cliffs of consolidated coral breccia, and on the opposite side a sloping beach composed of hard coral sandstone arranged in gently inclined slabs; while its surface is in one place raised into a large mound about thirty feet in height, covered with trees and rank grass, and probably composed of blown coral sand. Among the tufts of grass on the sloping sides of this mound were great numbers ofSpirula-shells in a tolerably perfect condition. Many of them lay in sheltered places where they could hardly have been deposited by the agency of the wind alone, and yet if they had been dropped by birds after the latter had devoured the soft body of the mollusc, one would expect to have found the fragile shells in a more or less mutilated state, which was not the case. The circumstance is, therefore, a rather puzzling one to account for satisfactorily.
The flora was more abundant in species than at any of the coral islands to the northward. There were, moreover, no signs of the island having been inhabited; and consequently we saw no palms, for the cocoa-nut does not seem to beindigenousat any of the islands recently visited. The prevailing tree was a good-sized banyan, of which many examples appeared to be very old. There were also several Hibiscus trees. As to bushes, there were a few isolated examples of the "Veloutier blanc," while the low central part of the island, into which the sea-water penetrated so as to form a filthy salt-marsh, was covered with a dense impenetrablethicket of "Bois d'Aimanthe." Herbaceous plants were numerous, and comprised species of the familiesSolanaceæ,Malvaceæ,Euphorbiaceæ, andGraminaceæ.
The fauna, which was not extensive, included a brown rat, which was to be seen climbing along the upper branches of the trees, apparently in search of small birds or their eggs; a lizard; a large brown dove, pronounced by Mr. Bowdler Sharpe to be a new species of Turtur; aZosterops, and a sun-bird, a large crab of the genusBirgus; terrestrial hermit-crabs, and many spiders.
We did not find any fresh water. The soil on the upper parts of the island was a dark loam; and although sea-birds in the shape of gannets and frigate-birds were abundant and bred on the island, I saw very little guano.
I spent the forenoon of the following day in examining the broad fringing reef, a great extent of which was laid bare by the low-water spring-tide. It was composed of coral sandstone and coral breccia, and presented a rather sterile appearance, being entirely devoid of living corals, and containing very few zoophytes in its rock pools. I was, however, interested at finding on the surface of this reef a few isolated rounded stones which were quite foreign to the surrounding formation, and whose source remains a mystery difficult of solution. One was an oblong block of hard black basalt, about a foot long, by four inches in width, while the other was a lump of clear quartz the size of an orange, and much worn by attrition. Darwin, in his "Journal of a Naturalist," mentions a similar occurrence at the Keeling Islands; and in endeavouring to account for it, inclines to the belief that such stones have been transported by floating trees, in whose roots they were originally entangled, and from whence they have become detached after the stranding of the dead tree.
From the rock-pools we picked up some large Cone-shells, as well as a few Murices, Littorinas, and Turbos. We also saw some Ophiurids, and one Holothurian.
We got under way again on the 5th of May, and, after spendingseveral hours in taking soundings, came to an anchor in eleven fathoms, about two miles to the northward of Glorioso Island. This is the largest island of the three which constitute the Glorioso Group (Vert Island is very small indeed), and is somewhat squarish in shape, measuring a mile and a half each way. It consists of a central depressed plateau, in which the wells yield only brackish water, enclosed by two lines of circumvallation, which are composed of sand hills forming continuous ridges, and ranging from thirty to forty feet in height above the level of the sea. The outer of these two ridges is about forty yards from high-water mark on the beach, and is separated from the inner ridge by a broad and deep furrow, which sustains a luxuriant growth of "Veloutier" and "Bois d'Aimanthe" bushes. Near the centre of the island we saw the muddy bed of a marsh, now dry, which one of the negroes informed me was at certain times of the year full of salt water.
Glorioso Island is the property of a Frenchman named Carltot, who, at the time of our visit, was away somewhere in Madagascar. The population consisted of the manager—an old Frenchman—one other white man, and fifteen negro labourers; who, with their wives and families, amounted in all to twenty-seven. They were endeavouring to cultivate cocoa-nuts, but so far as we could judge, without much success; for the number of these trees bearing fruit scarcely amounted to twenty. The poor people were in great distress for want of clothes and provisions, not having seen any vessel for ten months before our arrival. They had latterly been subsisting wholly on turtle and fish, without vegetables, meal, or bread of any kind. The island was so infested with rats that it was found almost impossible to raise any vegetables. In fact, commercially, it has proved a failure, so that the wretched inhabitants were only awaiting the first opportunity for quitting it and returning to Mahé.
The flora resembled that of Du Lise. The banyan tree, called "Fouce" by the Creoles, was conspicuous, and in many instancesseemed to be of great antiquity. I noticed the same land-birds as at Du Lise, but there was an addition in the occurrence of the Madagascar crow. Frigate-birds were numerous all over the island, and, strange to say, were frequently to be seen perching on the branches of tall forest trees. In using the word "forest" for the first time whilst speaking of these islands, I should add that a great portion of Glorioso was covered with a dense growth of virgin forest, upon which the clearing operations of the colonists had made comparatively feeble inroads. I need scarcely add that our proximity to the great island of Madagascar was rendered apparent by the above-mentioned novelties as to fauna and flora which we encountered on our voyage southward.
The greater portion of the circumference of the island is fringed by a broad reef of dead coral and coral sandstone, on which rests in many places a thin coating of mud or sand. This platform of reef, and also the sandy beach proper, together exhibited examples of a good many shells, most of which, however, were dead specimens. We saw representatives of the generaConus,Turbinella,Fusus,Cypræa,Trivia,Nassa,Natica,Neritina,Haliotis,Dolium, andOliva. Besides these shells there was little else to be seen, except fragments of organ-pipe coral (Tubipora musica), and the bleached tests of anEchinus, a species ofHemiaster(?).
On the morning of the 8th of May we were again under way and sailing for Mozambique Island, which is about five hundred miles from Glorioso. On the evening of the 10th we passed within a few miles of Mayotta, one of the Comoro Islands, and had a fine view of its high volcanic hills,—a sight peculiarly grateful to eyes now for some time accustomed to seeing land only in the shape of low coral islands. As we passed to the eastward, the shadow cast by the western declining sun on the face of the island brought out the outline of its hills in the form of a bold silhouette.
May 12th, about midday, looking to the westward we saw a great flat-topped hill appearing above the horizon. This was ourfirst view of the east coast of Africa, and proved to be Table Mountain, a hill two thousand feet high, and situated some twelve or fifteen miles inland. Being of such a height it was visible to us from a distance of fifty miles, when nothing was to be seen of the coast itself or of the intervening lowlands. Shortly before dusk we steamed up to the north side of Mozambique Island, and anchored for the night in an open roadstead, whence, on the following morning, we moved into the inner anchorage.
Mozambique Island has been in the possession of the Portuguese since the middle of the fifteenth century. About the year 1505 they commenced to build a large fort on the northern extremity of the island. It was designed on a scale of great magnitude, and although constructed entirely of stone, and entailing an immense amount of labour, was completed within a period of about seven years. Having then by means of this stronghold established themselves securely and made this island a base of operations for further conquests, they began to annex nominally a great extent of territory along the neighbouring coast of Eastern Africa. For the next two hundred years, or thereabouts, most of the trade of the coast passed through Mozambique, and the position was therefore of great importance, both in a commercial and political point of view. The produce consisted of ivory, cocoa-nut oil, india-rubber, gold, amber, and calumba root. Of late years Zanzibar has monopolized most of the East African trade, and, consequently, Mozambique has been losing its importance, and has now almost ceased to be a centre of commercial industry. Indeed, the only African export of any moment which now passes through Mozambique is india-rubber, which is said to be of good quality, and of which large supplies are forthcoming.
The coast tribes have never properly fraternized with the Portuguese, and although a large force of troops is maintained at the fort, the few colonists who now reside on the mainland are practically at the mercy of the natives. At present, a large tribe, the Macolos, hostile to the Portuguese, and numbering aboutfifteen thousand, were encamped in the neighbourhood of Pau Mountain, a hill which we could see from the ship, and which is only twenty miles distant. The Macolo dialect is the same as that used by the black natives of the island.
Mozambique Island is a mile and a half long by a quarter of a mile in width, and is separated from the mainland by a shallow channel one mile broad, through which the ebb and flood tides run with great velocity. Considering the small area of the place the population is dense, amounting altogether to seven thousand. It is composed of African blacks, Banyans from Kutch and Gudjerat in Hindostan, Portuguese, Arabs, and English. There are only five of the latter nationality; viz., the British Consul, Mr. O'Niel (late Lieut. R.N.); Mr. Cassidy, superintendent of the telegraph cables; Mr. Parlett, agent for the British India Steamers; and two telegraph operators. The number of Portuguese forming the garrison of the island amounts to two hundred and fifty; and, besides these, there is a detachment of sixty soldiers stationed on the adjoining shore of the mainland.
There is a local trade in an intoxicating liquor called "Caju," which is made from the fermented juice of the soft part of the cashew fruit, by distillation. It is said that a tablespoonful of this liquor is sufficient to intoxicate an ordinary man, and to give him a fearful headache as well.
I spent several hours, while the tide served, in exploring the neighbouring reefs for shells and other marine specimens. Among the former were three species of cowries,C. tigris,C. mauritiana, andC. moneta; a largeFusus, aHaliotis, aVolute; anOstræa, aConus, aTridacna, and aPinna; while on the beach we foundNaticas,Neritinas, andPinnas. SeveralEchinodermswere also seen, comprising fourOphiurids, and three or fourAsterias. Of the latter, there was one huge species of a blood-red colour on the upper surface, and gaudily variegated with round blotches of yellow. AmongCrustaceans, the most common form was aCalappa.Grapsuswas also represented, and a fewMaioidspecieswere also captured. On opening a couple of clam-shells some curious commensal crabs were found inside, two in each shell; they seemed to be very reluctant to leave their old quarters.
Fringing the adjoining shore of the mainland was a large extent of reef covered with fine sand, and bearing a luxuriant crop of short green sea-wracks (Zostera). Under shelter of this weed we found a great number and variety of Holothurians. A longSynaptaunpleasant to handle on account of the pricking sensation which its spicules imparted to the skin, was here obtained, and a small conger eel dwelt in burrows projecting downwards from the bottom of small pits in the sand, where it might be seen protruding its head on the look-out for its prey.
The most frequent shell on this part of the reef was a species ofPinnaabout eight inches long, which, in numbers of three or four together, was generally to be seen anchored vertically in the sand by means of its long byssus. The lips of the shell were so very fragile, and the byssal attachment was so firm, that it was no easy matter to root up an uninjured specimen. About the roots of the green sea-wrack nestled in great numbers a tiny cowrie, the collection of which gives occupation to great numbers of women and children, who may be seen scattered over the reefs every day at low tide. Great quantities of these shells are exported to the west coast of Africa for the benefit of the negro tribes there, who still make use of them as the current coin of the country.
With our arrival at Mozambique terminated the surveying operations of theAlert, so that it only remained for us now, on receiving our mails, to make the best of our way to England. We accordingly sailed on the 22nd of May, and proceeded on our voyage towards the Cape of Good Hope, which we expected to reach in about a fortnight's time. However, the weather proved to be most unfavourable, for on passing to the southward of Madagascar, where we had calculated on meeting with the south-easterly trade wind, we encountered instead a westerly breeze,accompanied by a rather heavy sea, so that our progress for the time was far from satisfactory. On reaching the latitude of Algoa Bay, on the east coast of Africa, it was decided on running in there for coal, which we accordingly did, anchoring off the town of Port Elizabeth on the 9th of June, and remaining there until the morning of the 11th, when we resumed our voyage to the Cape.
We arrived at Simon's Bay, Cape of Good Hope, on the 14th of June, and made a stay of fourteen days, which was necessary in order to enable us to refit and revictual the ship, and otherwise prepare for the homeward voyage through the Atlantic.
On one of the few days which I here spent on shore, I made the acquaintance of a Mr. Black, a fine hale old man, a shipwright by trade, who supplemented his regular work by collecting and preparing for sale various curiosities of natural history, especially the skins and horns of many South African animals of the antelope family. His latest trophy was a very large specimen of the egg of theEpiornisof Madagascar, a gigantic bird which would seem to have become extinct almost within the historic period. He had purchased this egg, as a commercial speculation, from the supercargo of a trading schooner, and hoped to realize a considerable profit by disposing of it to one of the European museums. It was indeed of enormous proportions—although not actually the largest on record—for it measured eleven and three-quarter inches in length and eight and a half inches in breadth, while it had a capacity of about eight quarts. The shell was one-eighth of an inch in thickness, as I ascertained by measuring it at the smaller end, where there was an aperture large enough to admit the thumb. He could not give me any information as to the conditions under which it was found, and although he had paid a large sum for it seemed to be unaware of the fact that somewhat similar specimens existed. It appeared to be in a sub-fossil condition, and was dotted over externally with fine pits, so that its surface somewhat resembled that of an old half-decayed human skull. About one-thirdof its surface was stained uniformly of an earthy colour, suggesting the idea that it must have remained for a long time partially imbedded in the ground.
On the direct homeward voyage we stopped for a few days at St. Helena, and also at Fayal in the Azores, finally reaching Plymouth Sound on the 3rd of September, 1882, after an absence from England of nearly four years.